news Steve Green won a close race against Brita Sailer in the race to become the House District 2B representative. Green, a Fosston Republican, won with 51 percent of the vote, while Sailer had 49 percent, in unofficial results. Vote totals were 9,759 for Green and 9,376 for Sailer. Sailer, a Democrat from...
Bemidji, 56619

Bemidji Minnesota P.O. Box 455 56619

2012-11-08 00:34:25

Steve Green won a close race against Brita Sailer in the race to become the House District 2B representative.

Green, a Fosston Republican, won with 51 percent of the vote, while Sailer had 49 percent, in unofficial results. Vote totals were 9,759 for Green and 9,376 for Sailer.

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Sailer, a Democrat from Park Rapids, represented the district from 2005-2010 before losing to Dave Hancock. Redistricting changed the boundaries of the district, moving Hancock to District 2A for the election.on.

Green had the lead over Sailer most of the way, but “I never really felt I had it locked up until the last precinct came in,” he said. “There’s always a chance.”

It was a late night for him, as the last precincts didn’t come in until after 3 a.m.

“I wish we would have kept the majorities,” Green said, referring to the state Senate and House flipping from Republican to Democratic control. “But either way, I’m still going down to represent my district.”

Green said he would not have been able to win without his election committee and volunteers. “They were great. We went until yesterday. We were all confident that win or lose, we had done a good job.”

He thanked the voters and those who supported him.

“It’s a humbling experience to come into something like that and get … the support you need in order to win,” Green said. “I hope to be hearing from them when I’m in office.”

“It was a new district,” Sailer said of the redrawn 2B, which introduced her to many new constituents.

“It didn’t work out our way, but I had a good campaign,” said Sailer, who was thankful to those who supported her and worked on her campaign. “I had a wonderful time visiting people. I do like door-knocking, because I do like visiting with people. It’s one of the best ways to connect.”

While Sailer is disappointed to lose her bid to become a representative again, “overall it was a wonderful night for Democrats – not just for Democrats, but also for the state of Minnesota, hopefully,” she said. “A lot of messages have gone out in the last few years, work really hard, work together. I think that message is still out there.”

Sailer is thankful to everyone who supported her and worked on her campaign.